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Kris uses the John Brown/Chris Williams method for shaving a round tenon. Today’s class: Staked High Stool.Sharp fixes everything. Even the saddle of a curly oak seat. Still thankful to the guy who showed me how to sharpen card scrapers 23 years ago.December of 1802 was Fisher’s first foray into chairmaking. After making a “rack for chair backs,” he constructed a “shaving jack” on which he “shaved chair backs.” The term “shaving jack” appears to be unique to Fisher but the immediate context of beginning to shave chair parts after its completion suggests the tool is what is today commonly known as a “shaving horse.” The use of the word “jack” to describe a workshop appliance has its etymological roots in the fact that “Jack” was a name for “‘any common fellow,’ and [was] thereafter extended to various appliances which do the work of common servants” such as holding things for the master craftsman. Readers may be familiar this kind of usage in the term “board jack” – a tool used to hold up the end of a large board for edge planing. Because Fisher does not record making any other shaving horse, it is assumed this is the one he refers to. The design is suited to chairmaking because of its dumbhead design – large enough for that kind of work but not much more. The head is mortised off-center to maximize the clamping area on the proper left side. The head’s grip on the stock was enhanced by the addition of leather strips nailed on only that side. It is obvious that the far end of the horse was used as a chopping block for quite some time because of a dished area almost a foot wide and several inches deep made by an axe. Evidently, Fisher was not precious about his tools. This pre-industrial irreverence toward workbenches was rooted in the craftsman’s pragmatism. — from “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)” by Joshua A. Klein #Hands_Employed_Aright@RudeMechanic on Twitter
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Search Results for: cornett
Chester Cornett’s Sign for his Workshop
It’s no secret that Brendan Gaffney and I are obsessed with the life and work of Chester Cornett, a traditional Eastern Kentucky chairmaker who pushed into the world of art with his later chairs he built mostly in Cincinnati. While … Continue reading
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Cornett’s Woven Masterpiece
I’ve just finished my article for Mortise & Tenon Magazine about Chester Cornett’s “Masterpiece Bookcase Rocker.” I believe Cornett called his bookcase rocker a masterpiece for its expert joinery, its level of adornment and care of construction – but over … Continue reading
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Hairyman Cornett
Driving through Eastern Kentucky makes me homesick for the mountains of Arkansas. Something about the contrast – intense natural beauty with equally intense poverty – reminds me of growing up in the Ozarks. And every conversation with the locals is … Continue reading
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Chester Cornett & His Roman Workbench
I’ve seen a blurry photograph of a detail of Chester Cornett’s chairmaking workbench and read Michael Owen Jones’s description of the bench in “The Craftsman of the Cumberlands.” At the time I thought: That sounds like a Roman-style workbench. And … Continue reading
Posted in Ingenious Mechanicks, Uncategorized
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Another Chester Cornett Rocker (or When Routers Attack!)
Today Brendan Gaffney and I got a rare up-close look at one of Chester Cornett’s rockers during a preview for an antiques auction in Cincinnati. The walnut rocking chair was one of Cornett’s later pieces. And after a close examination, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Yellow Pine Journalism
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Chester Cornett at the Kentucky Folk Art Center
For many years, I have been an undying fan of the work of Chester Cornett (1913-1981), a traditional Eastern Kentucky chairmaker who crossed over to become an artist who lived out his last years in Cincinnati, just a few miles … Continue reading
Posted in Personal Favorites, Uncategorized
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If You Aren’t Afraid of a Little Snow
The Lost Art Press storefront is open today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. And at 7 p.m. we are throwing a party for Christian Becksvoort to celebrate his new book “Shaker Inspiration.” The event is free. We will have … Continue reading
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Wisdom from Pine Mountain
“I’ve heard that all my life, a chairmaker never has a thing to set on.” — Chester Cornett, as quoted in “Craftsman of the Cumberlands” (University of Kentucky Press) by Michael Owen Jones
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Caption Challenge and the Winner Is…
The winner of a Lost Art Press bandana (man scarf) and Chester Cornett button is ‘speed poet’ Bill Rainford. Within 46 minutes of the posting of the Caption Challenge Bill submitted a four-line poem capturing the pleasures and perils of … Continue reading
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Caption Challenge and a Prize!
Yes, my darlings, we will have a prize for the best entry submitted for this Caption Challenge. Sharpen your wits and enter** as many times as you wish. The Challenge ends on January 1, 2019 at 1500 hours in my … Continue reading
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